Raphael Actor Alan Ritchson Talks Ninja Turtles

Alan Ritchson, who signed on to play Raphael in the Ninja Turtles remake last month, reveals that the movie is actually much better than all the negative hype that has swirled around it since the project's inception.

Here's what the actor had to say, revealing that he believes the fans will be pleased with the final product.

"The frustrating thing for me since I've signed on is that you hear that it's already got a reputation, this movie that hasn't come out yet. I think people assume they know what it's going to be about, and those people are wrong. The assumptions, everything you read online is wrong and it's frustrating because you want to tell everybody how great it is, and you can't really say why, but it is. It's so much better than people think and, I promise that. It's going to look way better than anybody can imagine. I can't wait for people to see this. I think it's going to live up to and exceed everybody's boyhood dreams of being a Ninja Turtle. I grew up with it too and I want to see it come to life in the best way possible. It's been really cool to be a part of, and see it come to life."

We reported earlier this month that production began in Wantagh, New York, but now it seems that shooting has shifted to Manhattan. Here's what the actor had to say about shooting live-action motion-capture, and the training he has undergone to play the sai-wielding Raphael.

"We are shooting. It's been an interesting process, this live-action-motion-capture thing. There's just a lot of technology involved so there's some kinks to work out. So we've had some trial runs, we've started shooting some. We're also in this phase right now that is sort of developmental. We've got to be ninjas, unfortunately for me, who can barely walk and talk at the same time. We're learning a lot of the fight choreography. We've got these unbelievable stunt trainers that work us every day to the bone. It's been a great process. We'll pick back up with principal photography soon. It's live-action motion-capture. We're running around Manhattan, me and Megan Fox, her looking wonderful and me looking like some kind of ant with cameras all over my face and dots. It's ridiculous, and it sucks running around with that stuff in public, but it's what we must do."